Mobile council committee supports six-month halt to oil storage tanks

Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl speaks before the Mobile City Council's Rules Committee on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013. Carl said a proposed six-month halt to issuing permits for the construction of oil storage tanks "sends fear through my heart" and that a moratorium would serve as a "direct hit" to pro-business interests. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

MOBILE, Alabama – A Mobile City Council committee
recommended approval Thursday to a six-month halt of issuing permits for the
construction of new oil storage tanks despite pleas from pro-business interests
that the move could have a chilling effect on future development.

The council's Rules Committee voted 2-1 to recommend the temporary
halt to the full council, which could vote on the issue during its Dec. 31
meeting.

Voting in favor were Council members Bess Rich and C.J.
Small. Voting against was John Williams.

The so-called "moratorium" could have enough votes when it
goes before the seven-member council. Both Councilmen Levon Manzie and Fred Richardson
originally sponsored the proposal.

Rich, Small, Manzie and Richardson support a proposal backed
by environmentalists and other concerned citizens who fear that an increased
presence of oil storage tanks could put the general public in harm's way.

Rich, in supporting the so-called "moratorium," said she
favors long-term planning for city's downtown area including its waterfront.

"We have used a lot of public resources in putting our
public near our waterfront and ... we have to have them safe," she said. "We've
talked about being the safest city by 2020. Not all of that has to do with
policing, but with all aspects of safety."

Business leaders and Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl
wanted the council to re-think the use of the word, "moratorium" and what it
might mean if implemented. Rich said another would aside from "moratorium"
could be used to describe the delay, but added that those concerns were more about
"semantics."

"The community has a job to do and I believe the community
is up for the charge," she said.

Pro-business groups feared the message the council might be
sending.

"It sends a message that we are closed for business," Bill
Sisson, president and CEO of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce said. "It can
be and will be used against the community."

Sisson and Carl both said they were concerned that a
business-related "moratorium" could negatively affect Airbus and the suppliers
to the large commercial manufacturer that might locate to Mobile.

Carl said that fuel tanks will be needed by Airbus and its
suppliers once the $600 million plant at Brookley Aeroplex opens in 2015.

"It's an impact not to just Airbus, but to suppliers who
might come in," he said. "If we put a moratorium on any business and tell
business people that for six months, they can't invest their money (into
Mobile), they will move."

Richardson said the halt is for only six months, and that it
should not affect the Airbus project.

"I want to know what effect these tanks will have on the
citizens of Mobile," he said. "We need to find out. I think six months isn't
asking much."

Bill Cutts, the company's CEO, said he feels his project
would be safely built outside a flood plain and unaffected by any potential
damaging storm surge in the event a massive hurricane strikes the city.

He, like Sisson and Carl, said the six-month delay will
hurt.

"I believe the moratorium would send the wrong message to
others who are looking to move to Mobile," Cutts said.

A representative of local contractors and the Mobile County
Road Builders agreed.

Michael Tew, speaking on behalf of Mobile's section of the
Associated General Contractors, said that "any drastic implementation" of a
moratorium could have a negative impact on local hiring.

Concerned citizens and environmentalists, though, believe
the six-month delay will enable city officials to fully understand the economic
and environmental effects of the industry.

Others referred to the "New Plan for Mobile," which outlines
development proposals for the downtown area, saying that economic development
should adhere to what the city has already endorsed.

Brenda Bolton, representing Tars Sands Oil Mobile -- a citizens' action group -- speaks during the Mobile City Council's Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2013, at Government Plaza in downtown Mobile, Ala. Bolton said a temporary halt on the issuance of building permits for oil storage tanks would give the city time to better analyze the issue. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

"This moratorium, I think will give us a chance to implement
these plans the council has voted on," said Brenda Bolton, a researcher with
Tar Sands Oil Mobile, a citizen's action group.

Fear of potential disaster also arose as a concern, with
some residents citing oil-related spills and explosions in Canada and elsewhere
as a reason the city should pause before approving permits to allow oil tanks
to be built within the city.

The temporary halt does not impact already existing
businesses.

"The citizens of (my district) would have to deal with the
effects of malfunctions or mishaps," Manzie said. "We need a long-range plan.
We don't need to have a hodgepodge approach to what industries we let in."